High School Roundup: Oak Forest takes 'first' step

Oak Forest interim coach Jason Thormeyer hadn't been pleased with his team's play during the first quarter in all of its first three games.

That said, Thormeyer was looking for a big effort from his troops during the first 12 minutes of their South Suburban crossover Friday night vs. Reavis.

He got it.

The eighth-ranked Bengals exploded for a 21-point first-quarter output en route to a convincing 40-7 triumph over the Rams in Burbank.

"I'm very happy with the way that we came out tonight," said Thormeyer, who's handling the coaching duties for the Bengals while Brian McDonough continues to recover from lymphoma. "Our first three games, we hadn't come out very strong. In fact, we'd been pretty flat to start every game so far this year. So to see our guys come out with a lot of intensity and play well from the start was a big step for us."

Oak Forest (4-0, 1-0) received a solid overall outing from junior quarterback Jon Wolf. The 6-foot-2, 165-pound signal-caller directed the Bengals' high-octane offense with efficiency, completing 7 of 11 passes for 137 yards and a touchdown. He also threw an interception.

On the ground, Wolf was equally impressive, carrying six times for 111 yards and two scores.

"This was a good win for us," Wolf said. "We came out and did what we wanted to do offensively, and that was key. Our line blocked well, our backs saw the holes that our line opened, ran hard and we hit some passes when we had to."

The Bengals also received another strong ground performance from senior fullback Bobby Walsh, who rushed for 139 yards in Oak Forest's 26-14 win over Richards a week ago. Against Reavis, the 5-foot-7, 175-pounder found his way into the end zone twice for Oak Forest en route to a 14-carry, 101-yard effort.

Steve Freeze opened the scoring for the Bengals, ripping off a 31-yard touchdown gallop with 8:42 to go in the opening quarter. Oscar Carillo hit the first of his four PATs and Oak Forest was up 7-0.

Walsh found pay dirt on the Bengals' next possession, scampering in from 3 yards out with 3:03 to go.

After Reavis (2-2, 0-2) fumbled the ensuing kickoff, the Bengals took over on the Reavis 6. Wolf plowed his way in from three yards as Oak Forest took a 21-0 edge.

A 65-yard TD run by Wolf and 23-yard scoring pass from Wolf to Freeze made it 34-7 going into the intermission.

The Rams put their only points on the board early in the second quarter when an errant snap sailed over the head of Oak Forest punter Mike Williams and into the end zone. Reavis' Alejandro Morales pounced on the loose ball with 11:40 left. Jose Estrada Luna booted the point after.

Walsh worked his way past the Rams secondary to complete the Bengals' scoring with a 38-yard TD run with 2:26 left in the third.

No. 2 Lincoln-Way East 34 Bradley 0

Kevin Starke scored on an 8-yard run and also caught a 14-yard scoring pass from Spencer Stanek (12-of-13, 154 yards) as Lincoln-Way East (4-0) posted the SouthWest Suburban crossover win in Frankfort. Others reaching the end zone for the Griffins were Jay Corbett (33-yard interception return), Eric Sawicki (93-yard kickoff return) and Pete Merenowicz (1-yard run).

No. 5 Lincoln-Way Central 28 Stagg 16

Lincoln-Way Central (4-0) overcame a 10-0 deficit thanks to an all-around effort from quarterback Kyle Plarski, who hooked up with Jeremy Kaplan for a 71-yard touchdown strike and rushed for a score on a sneak. Chase Davis and Pete Damiani each had a rushing touchdown for the Knights in the SouthWest Suburban crossover.

Mike Dematkes rushed for two touchdowns for Stagg (1-3). Quarterback Brett Revoir threw for 183 yards and ran for 55.

Crete-Monee 20 Bloom Township 0

Dan Boylan rushed for 104 yards and scored on a 5-yard run as Crete-Monee (1-3) posted the SICA crossover win in Chicago Heights. Julius Spicer added a 9-yard scoring run for the Warriors, while quarterback Armand Pierre (8-of-16, 133 yards) tossed a 10-yard TD pass to Steve Trudo.

Bloom Township fell to 2-2.

De La Salle 42, Gordon Tech 6

Behind three touchdowns on the ground by Mark Kasper, De La Salle (3-1) cruised to the Catholic League crossover win in Chicago. Kasper ran 14 times for 202 yards, with the scores coming on runs of 4, 26, and 20 yards.

Quarterback Tom Lally went 5-for-8 passing for 112 yards. D.J. Bland (25 yards), Ahmed Evans (25 yards) and Clayton Kendall (23 yards) had touchdown receptions.

T.F. South 14, Rich South 8

Jeremy Lewis scored the lone touchdown for Rich South (2-2) in the SICA crossover. He tallied on a 10-yard run with three minutes remaining in the fourth quarter.

Rob Gafford powered T.F. South (4-0) with 111 yards on 27 carries and touchdown runs of 1 and 7 yards.

Oak Lawn 13, Shepard 7

Oak Lawn (1-3) notched its first win of the season as Nick Pesek racked up 162 yards on 19 carries in the South Suburban crossover.

Shepard fell to 1-3.

Eisenhower 21, Bremen 13

Quarterback Josh Rodriguez threw for two touchdown passes to lead Eisenhower (2-2) in the South Suburban crossover. Gervaise Porter added 86 yards and a 2-yard touchdown run on 18 carries. Joe Hawkins (22 yards) and Darren Bryant (12 yards) caught the TD passes from Rodriguez.

Keithan Hedrick (8 tackles) rushed 15 times for 93 yards for Bremen (2-2).

Evergreen Park 15 Tinley Park 0

Leo Morrison scored on a 2-yard run and also threw a 50-yard touchdown pass to Dave McLaughlin to spark host Evergreen Park (1-3) to the South Suburban crossover victory. Andy Gomez added a 27-yard field goal for the Mustangs.

Tinley Park dropped to 2-2.

Lockport 23 Homewood-Flossmoor 6

Ryan O'Donnell totaled 222 yards and three touchdowns on 40 carries in leading host Lockport (3-1) to the SouthWest Suburban crossover victory. O'Donnell's scoring runs covered 4, 7 and 7 yards.

Aaron Phillips scored on a 2-yard run for Homewood-Flossmoor (1-3).

Chicago Christian 43 Luther South 12

Andy Stuursma crossed the goal line on a 19-yard reception, a 22-yard interception return and a 70-yard kickoff return in sparking host Chicago Christian (4-0, 2-0) to the Private School League win.

Knights quarterback Jason VanderLaan threw the scoring pass to Stuursma and also scored on a 1-yard run. Dan Merrick (12 carries, 94 yards) added a 6-yard scoring jaunt for the winners.

Morgan Park 46 Chicago Vocational 12

Morgan Park (2-2, 1-0) rolled to the Public League Illini Prairie State victory behind running back Dominique Bell, who had 18 carries for 156 yards and three touchdowns (1, 5, 8 yards). Mustangs quarterback LaCory Valentine added TD passes of 50 yards to Calvin Brookins and 3 yards to Jajuan Lewis in the contest at Gately Stadium.

Hillcrest 33, Argo 16

Quarterback Stephen O'Neal ran for 73 yards and two touchdowns (14, 33 yards) as Hillcrest (2-2) won the South Suburban crossover in Summit.

Kendale Cooper scored on a 2-yard run for Argo (1-3) and Jacques Moses threw a 35-yard TD pass to Bobby Pettis.

BOYS SOCCER

Illiana Christian 6, Rich East 1

Jent Botterman and Grant Bouwers scored two goals each as Illiana Christian (8-2) posted the nonconference victory in Park Forest. Britt Botterman added a pair of assists for the Vikings.

Rich East fell to 5-5.

Chicago Christian 0, Shepard 0

Chicago Christian (3-4-2) and Shepard (0-7-2) played to a draw in the nonconference match in Palos Heights.

GIRLS VOLLEYBALL

Mother McAuley Nike Preview

St. Ignatius (10-0) won both of its matches, defeating Marian Catholic (25-22, 25-23) and Belleville East (25-10, 29-27). Morgan Mientus had 15 kills on the night for the Wolfpack and Grace Bonoma totaled 30 digs.

Mary Broadhurst dished out 41 assists in two matches as Mount Assisi (7-6) topped Jacobs (25-18, 25-22) and Mother McAuley's JV (24-26, 29-27, 25-21). Emily Gunter also starred for the Eagles, spiking 15 kills.

BOYS GOLF

Bremen triangular

Medalist JaMichael Jones shot a 1-under 35 in leading Morgan Park (171) to the nonconference victory over Bremen (175) and T.F. North (224).

Kyle Fields carded a 40 for Bremen in the meet at Fountain Hills Golf Club in Alsip.

Illiana Christian 183 Bloom Township 195

Doug Vroegh led all individuals with a 4-over 39 as Illiana Christian (7-3) won the nonconference dual at Palmira Golf & Country Club in St. John, Ind.

Sean Lopez led Bloom Township (6-6) with a 45.

Girls Golf

Mount Assisi 191 Queen of Peace 289

In the GCAC Red match, Rose Trotto earned medalist honors for Mount Assisi (4-4 overall) with a score of 45 at Cog Hill No. 1.

GIRLS TENNIS

Illiana Christian 5 Seton Academy 0

Singles wins by Zhavia Gray (No. 1) and Kristi Koopmans (No. 2) propelled Illiana Christian (5-0) to the nonconference victory in Lansing.

Lemont 5, Bremen 0

Jessica Urban won her match at top-seeded singles for visiting Lemont (5-2, 3-0) in the South Suburban Blue.

Contributing: Correspondents Josh Krockey and Tim O'Brien.